Gabrpolu County Senator Amara Konneh has raised questions over the lack of funding for some institutions during the fiscal period of 2024 especially when the government of Liberia exceeded its revenue target.
The Liberia Revenue Authority (LRA) on Tuesday, January 14, 2025 reported that it achieved a remarkable milestone in its collective journey of strengthening Liberia’s economic foundation, exceeding a whooping US$690, 000,000 target during the 2024 Fiscal Year.
LRA Commissioner General Dorbor Jallah said the revenue body raised more than US$692 million, with an additional US$10 million in the process of being reconciled bringing actual budget performance to over US$ 700 million.
He said this achievement is a testament to the resilience, commitment, and collaboration of every stakeholder involved in the revenue mobilization process and as a direct result of the shared efforts and unwavering dedication of several key stakeholders.
He thanked the taxpayers of Liberia for their compliance, contributions and commitment in fulfilling their civic responsibilities, which became the cornerstone of this accomplishment.
“Your trust and partnership in building a stronger Liberia inspire us daily. To our diligent and hardworking staff across all departments, you have demonstrated professionalism, innovation, and an unyielding drive to achieve results. Your efforts have been instrumental in surpassing this ambitious target,” he said.
The LRA boss also recognized the efforts of the Revenue-Generating Agencies for their collaboration in ensuring that all revenue due to the government is collected efficiently and transparently, while admonishing stakeholders and development partners and civil society organizations for continuous support, advocacy and guidance, as their contributions have been invaluable in strengthening systems and operations.
Speaking on external revenue in the 2024 Budget, he admitted that as of October 2024, that portion of the revenue component of the budget was at zero percent, but said that the LRA receive US$40 recently with an outstanding US$8 million being processed to complete the US$48 million accounting for 6 percent of the 2024 Budget.
“For this current year (2025), the amount indicated for external resources is US$76 million. The hope is that we will be able to meet the requirements as a country to get those seventy six million. The way it works is that when external resources are earmarked by a donor for a country, they have condition precedents to fulfill certain requirements. And the sooner we are able to fulfill those requirements the earlier the money can start to come in,” Jallah said.
But responding to the report via post on his Facebook page, Senator Konneh, who was a key proponent leading to the election of the current Unity Party Government headed by President Joseph Nyuma Boakai, said the LRA’s performance announcement was commendable, but wondered why some institutions did not receive all the funds initially allotted to them in the 2024 Budget.
“LRA’s FY24 performance announcement is commendable! We await MFDP’s final FY24 expenditure outturn details to understand why institutions like Emirates Hospital and other health centers nationwide didn’t receive their full appropriations,” Senator Konneh said.
